Tri-County Grad Says There's No Financial Barrier in the Textile Department

FOR RELEASE DURING TEXTILE WEEK

(By Lisa Garrett)

SENECA --- After 20-plus years of raising her family and freelancing in the textile field, Lisa Harrison saw her window of opportunity for returning to college. Her youngest child was entering school, and she and her husband had prepared financially for the expense of college, so she was shocked when, without even seeking financial aid, Tri-County Technical College's Textile Management Technology department head offered her a two-year scholarship.

She soon found out that's not uncommon. Since the program's inception in 1973, companies have donated 1,024 textile scholarships valued at more than $1.5 million. This support has helped to make Tri-County's Textile Management Technology program the strongest at any two-year college.

"A textile student shouldn't ever say I can't afford Tri-County. There's no financial barrier in the textile department," said Harrison, a Seneca resident.

Her scholarship, provided by the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation, and a Pell grant took care of all college expenses, says Harrison, who graduated in August and is the first Tri-County textile graduate to transfer to Clemson University with a $1,500 per semester scholarship, through a new agreement between Tri-County and Clemson's School of Textiles.

These are just two examples of the industry's support of Tri-County's textile management program and Tri-County and Clemson working together to provide more options for graduates. Through this new agreement Tri-County textile graduates are eligible for Clemson textile scholarships beginning with the first semester. Normally a student must earn 12 hours at Clemson to be eligible for a scholarship.

Harrison says she spent two years "streamlining" her life before devoting much of it to college at age 43. She knew there would be less time for elaborate meals and housecleaning. She willingly exchanged hobbies, such as sewing, for studying, and the avid reader now devours only textbooks. "But I don't feel cheated. The pay off is too good," she said.

With a career goal in textile product development, Harrison initially wanted to go the four-year route at Clemson. Classes were full so professors referred her to Tri-County. "I wasn't even aware of the textile department at Tri-County, but after talking with Don Shirley (former department head), who was helpful from day one, I said this will work for me," she remembers.

"The program is well planned, and it meshed so well with Clemson's curriculum. I felt well prepared to transfer to Clemson as a junior. Tri-County offered valuable tours of plants and hands-on individual attention and accessibility to instructors. I talked with Tri-County textile graduates who had transferred to Clemson and asked if they had trouble with classes. Across the board, they all said it was a smooth transition."

After her first semester, she decided she would complete the entire two years at Tri-County. "It's a quality program," said Harrison, who holds a diploma in Fashion Merchandising from the American Business and Fashion Institute in Charlotte, N.C.

Despite the doom and gloom shown in the media recently, textiles is an energetic, exciting and huge industry, she emphasizes. "It's an industry where graduates can choose from many areas -- marketing, sales, computers, chemistry, and product development -- her choice. "I'm project-oriented and love package problems," she said.

"The textile industry has been hit hard by global competition, but we're not alone. There are plenty of jobs out there. It's very reassuring," she said.

In fact, 95 percent of Clemson textile graduates get jobs in their field, and Tri-County boasts a 100 percent job placement rate.

"Most have jobs before they graduate, and these are jobs in their field," she said.

"I've done enough research to know there will be a spot somewhere for me when I graduate," she said, "because I'm preparing myself with education. I don't foresee difficulty because of the combination of my degrees and my life skills."

Textiles is so much more than the manufacturing of sheets and pillowcases, she added. The textile industry includes surgical attire, protective clothing, non-wovens, coffee filters, casket linings, heart valves automotive headliners, paint rollers and carpets.

"If you are considering a career in textiles, you must get your education," she said.

"For a displaced homemaker like myself," said Harrison, "or for someone changing careers, it's never too late to enter college."

"Tri-County really was a great start because of the quality instructors and counselors. They really do hold your hand and walk you through the process. I could have gotten lost in the shuffle and gotten overwhelmed by the process, but they do a good job of not letting that happen. You're not one of 1,000. Tri-County is small enough to help students with all aspects of returning to college."

At 43, Harrison says she appreciated Tri-County's non-traditional population that comprises a large percentage of students on a technical college campus. "I now seem to be the only older person carrying a backpack instead of a briefcase," she said.

She says good advisors helped her to complete her degree in two years and to enter Clemson as a junior.

Another plus is the Tri-County instructors' close ties with industry, she said. "Many of them have worked in the industrial environment. When Jim Wilson (Tri-County's Textile Management Technology department head), who worked in the textile industry for 13 years, explains a problem, he puts a real-life spin on the textbook material," she said. "I plan to use Jim and the College's Job Placement Office as a resource when I seek an internship next year," she added

"Textiles offers an exciting future for the well prepared," she said. "You must think globally, be flexible and stay current."
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